Friday, December 30, 2016

Well today is the day, the last official post of 2016, and I'm going out the only way I know how; with action figures of course. Specifically the Top 10 figures of 2016.

It wasn't easy, God knows it wasn't, but some how, some way, I was able to force myself to choose my absolute favorite figures from this year.

And yes, they HAD to be come out this year, not just be bought this year.

Is it a surprise that they're all Marvel Legends figures? No?

Hasbro and Marvel Legends really outdid themselves this year, releasing the most waves of figures yet, not to mention the exclusives.

While DC stepped it up with their offerings with their DC Icons and Multiverse lines, I personally felt the Marvel Legends line just simply crushed all other competitors, flooding the market with wave after wave. Trust me, my wallet felt every bit of the strain to keep up. Mainly due to having buy a lot of these waves of figures online, since a good bit of these waves arrived so late or hardly at all near me. Amazon.Com to the rescue! And boy did I get my fill this year.

Since they totally killed it this year, I can only imagine just how spoiled we all be come next year, especially since the Guardians of the Galaxy movie is coming out next year, and there's already at least two waves' worth of GoTG figures planned to be released around the same time as the movie.

I'll finally have a Darkhawk figure(!!!!!), as well as Major Victory, a Jim lee-style Cyclops, Dazzler, Polaris, and Main 616 Sunfire. And that's just what we know so far....

Nuke as a total surprise to both myself and collectors, and the fact that he turned out so well, is a testament to the very skilled sculptors that work at Hasbro.
Coming with two heads; one regular, the other bald, battle-damaged, Nuke is mostly made of all-new parts, and is looks totally ready to burn down Hell's Kitchen or harass Cap or Logan.9). Dormamuu (BAF; Doctor Strange Movie wave)

The fiery-headed beast from the Doctor Strange wave comes in it #9. I don't know why I like him so much, as I was never really that much of a Dormamuu fan, but this figure is something else. I guess I'm under his spell. How else do you explain him beating out other really solid BAF's from this year like Rhino and the Absorbing Man? Not to mention having to buy 8, count 'em 8! figures just to build him. Most of those I really didn't want to buy (I'm looking at you Baron Mordo and those other two Dr. Strange figures!)
While I'd eventually like to see the older, original version, this one makes me happy just the same.8). Venom (Spider-Man Absorbing Man BAF wave)

It's Venom folks, and the classic Todd McFarlane version too!
Coming with two heads and two sets of hands, this figure is pretty much the definitive version for now. While the Marvel Select version is the better of the two, its hard to beat this one since to me (and a lot of others) it reminds us of the old, old Toy Biz Venom figure from the early 90's, just bigger, better, and more articulated.

7). Ghost Rider ( Spider-Man Rhino BAF wave)

This, this figure right here, is THE definitive Ghost Rider figure for me. While's he not the first, he most defintiely is THE best...for now....
Sadly he didn't come with any accessories for himself, he should've. His famous chain would've been nice, as well as a flaming motorcycle and an alternative head. Still, for what he is, he's still pretty damn cool.

6). Rogue (X-Men Juggernaut BAF wave)

This was THE Rogue figure a lot of collectors were wanting ever since that first shitty ML Rogue figure came out over a decade ago. Well Hasbro thankfully redeemed the figure, with this ultimate Jim Lee-style addition, and I couldn't be happier. She came with an extra ungloved hand, so you she can steal my other mutant figures' powers, and as an added bonus, she came with the Onslaught head to go with the Red Onslaught BAF figure, meaning, you could now have Onslaught on your shelves. Nice.5). Black Panther (Captain America Civil War wave)

While I happily own a classic Black Panther figure, this movie figure is a super-detailed beast! I love the paint apps, the sculpt, and just everything about this figure. It's truly one of the finer Black Panther figures to be made. And he comes with an unmasked head. Pure awesomeness right here,

4). Taskmaster (Captain America Civil War wave)

Fuck yeah it's the Taskmaster! This updated version of the classic ML figure is super-badass and comes with two heads; one is the white hooded look from the Spider-man animated series on Disney XD, the other is the early 00's look by artist Udon. He comes with his classic shield and some weapons, most notably a light-saber. That's basically what it is folks. A light-saber.
While I'd love for Hasbro to try and re-do the original again, this version for now, is THE Taskmaster on my shelf.

3). Cap-Wolf (Captain America Civil War wave)

It's fucking CAP-WOLF MAAAANNNNN!!!!! This very unexpected addition to the Marvel Legends line had to be clearly designed for the die-hard old-school comic fan, since Cap-Wolf is one of those pure 90's cheese creations. Still, it was beyond hard to not buy him, so I did. I just wish Hasbro had gone the full nine yards on this and gave us alternate wolf hands and feet to go with the giant wolf head. Otherwise he just looks like Cap in a half-ass wolf costume.2). Wolverine (X-Men Juggernaut BAF wave)

Just like Ghost Rider and Rogue on this list, this brown and tan-costumed Wolverine is THE definitive version of the brown and tan look Wolvie used to sport (and I wish he were alive to rock it again)
As an added bonus, he comes with an extra set of hands with claws to go with the pair of hands without them. So that was pretty cool. I highly recommend any Wolverine toy fans to pick this guy up if they haven't already.1). Deadpool (X-Men Juggernaut BAF wave)

But of course #1's Deadpool. As good, and great as my other figures were this year, no one was gonna' outshine the merc with a mouth on this list. From the funny and very creative packaging, to all the extras and accessories they loaded him up with, collectors and Deadpool fans really got their money's worth with him( and trust me, for a while this year he was THE figure loved by scalpers the most)
He came with all the guns and accessories you see here, plus an alternate cancer head, a shit-ton of weapons and a taco. God love Hasbro for including that last touch there.

For me, Deadpool, more than any other figure this year was top fucking dog and the most sought after.

SUPER CLOSE TOP TEN ENTRY:

The Punisher (Wal-Greens Exclusive)

Modeled in the Jim Lee-style, this Punisher figure comes with two heads; one the famous bandanna-ed version, and the other is.....a very tired-looking,probably has a cold, punisher head.
He's also got an assortment of guns, some of which he shared with Deadpool, but either way, Frank's packing some serious heat.
The Wal-Greens' exclusive figure, like Frank here, Namor Ant-man and Daredevil have really been worth getting. I'm looking very forward to see what figures they roll out as exclusives next year.

Speaking of figures, here's that Jackal figure I got in the mail yesterday...

I love the overall sculpt and expression on his face. He's just...just...just so damn evil!!!!
I've already a skit with him and my Spider-Gwen, so expect that next week

I also ordered the Shocker and Green Goblin figures from that Spider-Man Sandman BAF wave. Did we really need another Sandman figure? No, but this one looks pretty good, and it's basically Hasbro getting their money's worth out of that Absorbing Man BAF since outside of the head, they're basically re-using all of the other parts.
Other figures in this wave are a Black-costumed Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel Kamela Khan, the new version of Spider-man 2099, and UK Spider-Man.

Can't wait to collect all of them.

Well that's me for this week, and this year folks.
I sincerely wish that all of you out there in internet land and the real world, have a really good and prosperous 2017!!! God knows we're gonna' need it to be after this year.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

TGIT!!!!
For this week's edition of So, Who Would Win?, I'm pitting mutant against mutant, brother against brother, Native American versus Native American, when I force the original Thunderbird, John Proudstar against his younger brother James Proudstar a.k.a. Warpath.

Call it a morbid inclination on my part to see which of the two brothers is the better.

Now ideally, both of them seem to be equals as far as their mutant powers go, seeing as how they both haven enhanced strength (both can lift up two two tons) have enhanced speed, agility, and endurance.

Now here's where the key differences come in; while both have combat training from being an X-Men, and john has military training from his stint as a marine, his younger brother James has the additional benefit of being trained by Cable during his years in that version of X-Force. Also there's his time with Pete Wisdom's X-Force, and Wolverine's black ops incarnation of X-Force, where his killer instincts and training were super-finely honed.

Add in the fact that while older, John doesn't have as many years combat training as a super-hero that his brother James does, and things get even more interesting.

So,

Thunderbird

VS.

WarpathWho wins and why?
Let me know what you think in the comments' section below.

Also, as promised, here's a picture of my Christmas Swag from my family:

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

...And welcome to another edition of Dream Waves.
Today's all about the Justice League, specifically a good portion of the team that either hasn't been made yet, or just was hasn't been made into the current DC Multiverse line of DC figures that is itself, a continuation of the much-beloved and sorely missed DC Universe Classics line of figures.

My goal today is to present to you my loyal and faith readers/viewers what my ideal Justice League wave of figures would and could look like.

3). Classic Despero4). The Key5). Dr. Light (villain)6). Felix Faust7). Steel C&C: Starro
And that's all in just 4 waves' worth. I could maybe probably go to a fifth, but you get the idea.
My main goal, was to round out the team with members who haven't been made yet, as well as popular signature JL villains who also probably haven't been made yet.